What is best for carpet cleaning steam or dry?

The debate about whether the steam or dry carpet cleaning is more preferable is ongoing. Both of these cleaning methods have followers and critics. It is impossible to figure out which way is better unless we closely investigate them, their effectiveness and the results. So, read below in order to make an informed decision about the right cleaning approach.

Steam Carpet Cleaning

Not without a reason, the steam carpet cleaning is also called deep cleaning. It is proved to remove a large portion of dirt and bacteria that the carpet has accumulated over the time. Some statistics show that this method extracts over 97 percent of dirt, which is quite a fantastic result, isn’t it? In addition, this method is the only one that is able to reach the lowest levels of the carpet ensuring that it will become thoroughly clean. Even if you have stains on your carpet, the steam carpet cleaning is the best way to effectively deal with them.

Yet, these are not the only advantages that make the steam carpet cleaning preferable. This method uses heated water that is of a very high temperature. It penetrates down to the very bottom of the carpet and eliminates all mites and harmful microorganisms that live there. The only disadvantage of this method is the time for drying after the cleaning procedure. It is longer compared to the dry cleaning method and depends on several factors, such as the effectiveness of the extraction system that the cleaning expert uses, the humidity in the air, the expertise of the technician, etc. Usually, the drying period lasts from 45 minutes up to 4 or 5 hours.

So, the steam carpet cleaning has great advantages except for the drying time. If you need a quick access to the carpet after cleaning, you might need to consider another carpet cleaning method, i.e. dry carpet cleaning.

Dry Carpet Cleaning

This cleaning method uses a chemical solution to deal with the dirt that is on your carpet. This solution, although called dry, is not completely dry, as some small amount of water is used. Yet, the amount of water used in this method is much less compared to the steam carpet cleaning. This means that the drying time takes much less time too, which is probably the biggest advantage of this method.

The disadvantage of the dry cleaning method is that it works only on the surface of the carpet, i.e. on its top layers. This means that the dirt will quickly reappear after the cleaning and you will have to re-clean it again within a short period of time. The stubborn stains cannot be treated with this method as it proves to be ineffective. Probably, the biggest disadvantage that should be considered is that your family might be exposed to the harmful chemicals that this cleaning method uses. Moreover, it leaves a residue that can be dangerous for your health.

Conclusion

Those, who are concerned about how these chemicals might affect their health would definitely choose the steam carpet cleaning method. If people hurry up too much, they would probably choose the dry carpet cleaning, being aware of the risks involved in this method.